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JUNEAU - Two teenagers were injured in a rollover accident on Egan Drive early Tuesday.

Police Capt. Tom Porter said Bradley Bethel, 18, was the driver of the 1977 Chevrolet pickup reported in the median near the Vanderbilt Hill Road intersection at 1:38 a.m. A 16-year-old girl riding in the pickup was reported injured but was not identified.

Police reported that both were found in the median near the totaled pickup when officers arrived. Capital City Fire and Rescue treated both for injuries at the scene before taking them to Bartlett Regional Hospital. Bethel was flown to Seattle. Police reported he left in stable condition.

"There is not any indication they were wearing seat belts," Porter said. "They're lucky."

From talking with the people from the pickup, police learned it was inbound on Egan Drive and drifted into the median. Bethel attempted to steer out but hit a large dip, causing the pickup to flip.

Porter said there is no indication that alcohol or drug use contributed to the accident, but he said there is a possibility of citations being issued after the investigation is completed.

"People are required to exercise control of vehicles," he said.

Vandals hit windows of parked vehicles

JUNEAU - Police are investigating four incidents of broken windshields and back windows of vehicles, reported Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in the Mendenhall Valley and Douglas.

"These appear to be vandalism," Juneau Police Capt. Tom Porter said. The incidents don't appear to involve vehicle burglaries, he said.

At 2:49 p.m. Monday, a woman reported the back window of her 1988 Honda Accord was broken overnight in the 4400 block of Trafalgar Avenue in the Valley. Similar reports followed Monday at 3:17 p.m. involving the window of a backhoe at Dimond Park and 5:13 p.m. in the 1900 block of Ladysmith Lane in the Douglas area. At 11:11 a.m. Tuesday, also in the 1900 block of Ladysmith Lane, a woman reported a 2005 Subaru had its windshield broken out sometime in the previous couple of days.

At 3:49 a.m. Sunday, a woman reported a windshield broken on a 1990 Pontiac Grand Am in the 6500 block of Glacier Highway in the Lemon Creek area.

Porter said police haven't received enough information to say if the incidents are related.

Feds seek comment on Denali backcountry

FAIRBANKS - The National Park Service is holding meetings around Alaska to take public comment on its new backcountry management plan for Denali National Park and Preserve.

"This will describe the future for glacier landings, air taxi operators, the number of climbers on Mount McKinley and managing snowmachining in park additions," said park Superintendent Paul Anderson.

The plan, which maps out the agency's backcountry management for the next 20 years, has been revised from a preliminary draft released last year. It contains five alternatives, one of which is to leave things the way they are.

The alternatives range from preserving wilderness to developing more support facilities for backcountry users, such as trails, trailheads, information points and kiosks, Anderson said.

The backcountry in Denali comprises about 98 percent of the 6-million-acre park located about 150 miles south of Fairbanks.

State runs short on construction workers

KENAI - Construction is growing faster in Alaska than any other employment sector but the number of skilled workers may not keep up, industry officials warn.

Richard Cattanach, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska, addressed the Kenai Chamber of Commerce last week. AGC is a trade organization for commercial contractors. He said 5.7 percent of the work force in Alaska is construction. But the group projects there will be a 6 percent shortage this year, compounding every year for the next decade.

"There are going to be a lot of jobs in construction," Cattanach said, adding that growth in the sector and retirees will cause a labor shortage unless they can develop new strategies to recruit workers.

Almost $6 billion is projected to be spent on construction in Alaska in 2005, according to the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The oil and gas industry is projected to have the highest amount of construction spending in the state this year, with defense spending being the highest in the public sector, according to ISER.

Bail at $1 million for man accused in crash

FAIRBANKS - Bail has been reset to $1 million for a Fairbanks man who is accused of fatally striking a 13-year-old bicyclist in a drunken driving accident, then leaving the scene.

The new amount is 10 times the original bail that was set for Eugene Bottcher, 61, who is charged with manslaughter, failing to render assistance to an injured person after an accident, interference with official proceedings, assault and driving under the influence in connection with the May 23 accident that resulted in the death of Saul Stutz.

Bottcher has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled for an August trial.

At a bail hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Charles Pengilly also rejected three proposed third-party custodians for Bottcher.

Bottcher is accused of hitting Stutz with his pickup as the boy was riding his bicycle. Authorities say Bottcher continued driving and later tried to bribe a witness.